I think the single greatest joy of horse ownership, as I’ve learned over the past two years, is the simple act of getting to know your horse. It wasn’t that perfect walk-to-canter transition we had on Saturday, or the fact that Ace took all of his leads as requested for two rides straight. It wasn’t even the nuzzling I received sitting in a pile of hay in Ace’s stall last night.
It’s discovering that Ace hates apples. And that when he’s been in a stall for too long he shows his displeasure by pooping in his water bucket. It’s learning that going out with a really dominant horse stresses him out, but if he can “lay down the law” in a gentlemanly way, he’s happy. He’s content with his pasture buddies, but will take me over them any day. And as long as he’s got some hay, he can tune out the world.
Those, however, are things I learned about Ace ages ago. My newest discovery is that I’m completely convinced Ace was a trail horse in his old life.
Ace was 8 years old when I got him. The lady I bought him from had him as a pasture pet for 2-years. All she knew about his life before that is his former owners bought him from his breeder when he was 2, rode him western, and were selling him because they didn’t have time to for him.
That was all I had to go on.
I figured the fact that Ace was so uneducated under saddle was largely due to the fact that he had two years off and had forgotten what he knew. After 2 years, I have quite a bit of evidence that now leads me to believe he just had never been arena trained.
Ace is smart, and generally very willing. Once he figures out what I’m asking him to do and is convinced he gave the correct response, he does it almost all of the time. Even when he’s had 6 weeks off, other than being out of shape, he comes back as if he hasn’t missed a day. I’ve learned that Ace just isn’t the kind of horse to forget his training.
Then we started trail riding here and there in the last year. We go out with a buddy from the barn, and Ace just walks along without a care in the world. When he follows the other horse, he hangs his head and flops his ears and relaxes. When he’s in front, he wakes up and looks around and pays more attention. He’ll trot and canter happily along, and rarely spooks.
He marches right through the creek, weaves between trees, and handles all manner of footing. He steps over logs and walks through tangled branches without a hesitation. He went across railroad tracks and walked on the road with batting an eye on a snowy trail ride a week ago, the first time we’d gone across either.
In the arena, he once refused a tiny jump because there was some shiny, wet footing on the landing side. If I put down five ground poles instead of the four that he is used to, he hesitates. It took two months to teach him to go forward in an arena, and another five before he could finally canter comfortably. He’s just now solid enough in the really basic stuff (go, stop, turn, bend, straight), that I’m starting to teach him leg yields.
All of this is the evidence that tells me Ace was a trail horse ridden western in his former life.
He’s not a horse who forgets his training. He certainly didn’t know anything about how to go in a controlled manner in an arena – in any discipline. But accepted the saddle, bridle, and a rider perfectly from day one with me. He does load on and off a trailer like nobody’s business. And he goes through everything we’ve encountered on a trail without any encouragement from me. I really think that is what he knew.
How much did you know about your horse’s background when you got him (or her)? Did you have a full history to use to your advantage? Or were you like me and had to figure it out as you went? Either way, what discoveries have you made as you’ve gotten to know your horse?
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